The UN75 Office has issued its concluding report on the issues that citizens around the world perceive as most pressing and their expectations of the UN over the next 25 years. The publication presents the key findings of the worldwide consultation conducted throughout 2020.

Interim findings of the consultation were presented at the high-level meeting to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary on 21 September 2020. The concluding report updates those findings with results through 3 November 2020, and provides a collection of participants’ recommendations of steps the UN could take to address global challenges.

More environmental protection is the number one long-term priority for respondents globally.

The UN75 Office has also mapped those ideas and participants’ priorities against the 12 commitments contained in the political declaration adopted by governments at the anniversary event. The 12 commitments are to: leave no one behind, protect our planet, promote peace and prevent conflicts; abide by international law and ensure justice; place women and girls at the center; build trust; improve digital cooperation; upgrade the UN; ensure sustainable financing; boost partnerships; listen to and work with youth; and be prepared. The UN75 website indicates that the mapping will be made available on the “results” page.

The report titled, ‘Shaping our future together: Listening to people’s priorities for the future and their ideas for action,’ summarizes findings on: priorities for recovering better from the pandemic; threats and challenges for 2045; long-term priorities for ‘the future we want’; and views on international cooperation and the UN. It finds that “more environmental protection” is the number one long-term priority for respondents, globally, ranking in the top three priorities across all regions. 

On the role of the UN, participants called for: moral leadership; a reformed, more representative and more agile UN Security Council; a revised Charter that includes climate change and other current global challenges; continued management and leadership reforms, including more inclusive hiring practices, more accountability and more transparency; an inclusive and participatory UN system, helping to improve citizens’ understanding of the work of the UN; and improved implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of UN programmes globally, to solve international problems more effectively.

To help spark concrete action to enhance international cooperation, the UN75 initiative has placed all of the findings from the project in an online digital repository, enabling citizens’ voices “to resonate beyond 2020 and serve as a resource” for the UN and others seeking to align their actions with the priorities identified.

The concluding UN75 report marks the start of a new stage in the UN’s efforts to strengthen multilateralism. Going forward, in response to the mandate adopted by the UN General Assembly in the declaration adopted on 21 September 2020, the Secretary-General will “propose recommendations for transformative global action to address shared problems, deliver on critical global public goods and prepare for the threats and opportunities of the future.”

According to the report, the preparations for this report are taking place under a process called ‘Our Common Agenda’ which has a focus on “reinvigorating inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism.”

In the 75th anniversary declaration world leaders requested the UN Secretary-General to report back before the end of the 75th UNGA session, which ends in September 2021, with “recommendations to advance our common agenda and to respond to current and future challenges.” The report will be made available at the end of the 75th session of the UNGA in September 2021. [Publication: Shaping our future together: Listening to people’s priorities for the future and their ideas for action] [SDG Knowledge Hub policy brief recapping UN75 process since 2019]